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Chapter 19
- HARRIS -
“Youputz.”
Brow furrowing, my chin tucks inward.I didn’t quite expect that reaction from Mason.
Freya, maybe.But not Mason.
“Thanks for the support, titwad.You’re a real friend,” I reply, my tone snide.
I didn’t exactly get a ton of sleep after the adrenaline rush of worrying about Nicholas in that ER.And it definitely didn’t help to think of Ava sleeping at her ex-husband’s place, even if she was on a futon in her son’s room.
But even more, I just didn’t sleep well with her far away from me.I’ve gotten pretty used to having her close.
“Oh, don’t give me that BS about how I’m supposed to be supportive right now.Because from where I’m standing, you’re an idiot.”
My frown deepens.What a lousy way to spend New Year’s Eve.First I get dumped.And now my friend is yelling at me as though it’s my fault.I certainly drew the short end of the stick this holiday.
“Dude,shebroke it off withme.”I stand up from my couch and pace my floor, defensiveness simmering in my veins.“Not the other way around.I made that clear to you, right?”
“Crystal clear.As clear as you made it that you didn’t even fight for her.”
“Fight for her?”My eyes roll.“Like that’s what she needs.She’s got a kid she’s trying to raise.And I’ve heard enough complaints from my sisters about guys who don’t know how to step aside.I wasn’t going to be like that.”
“Step aside?Ha!That’s yourmodus operandi.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”I ask, detecting an insult even though I’m not up on my Latin.
“I mean, you push in your career.You pushed all through BUD/S.You pushed in your recovery after your injury.You pushed your way into one of the best jobs in intelligence.But when it comes to women, you’re way too willing to step aside.Hey, if you pushed with Freya years ago, you might have ended up the one married to her rather than me.”
“What the hell, Mason?”I cringe, revolted at the thought.“God forbid.”
“I’m serious.You liked her, way back when she and I were just friends.”
“Well, yeah,” I admit, my face still contorted as I try to wipe the idea from my brain.“But we wouldn’t have lasted a month.”
“True.You’d have killed each other.”
“Besides, it waspainfully clearto me that you two were in love with each other,” I remind him.
“Right.You stepped aside.Didn’t put your needs ahead of mine.”
“And you should be thanking me, not yelling at me,” I point out.
“No wayam I thanking you.In fact, I think we’re finally even,” he says definitively.“You let me have Freya, and I let Freya set you up with Ava.”
“Freya didn’t set me up with Ava.”
“Of course she did.Dude, you seriously didn’t catch onto that yet?Who asks a grown man to make a snowman?”he scoffs.
“Your wife, apparently,” I say, finding myself smiling at the memory as my eyes glance toward the snow outside my window.I remember the sound of Nicholas’s laughter as he threw those snowballs at us, and once more, my heart aches thinking of what that kid has gone through in his life.I stop pacing suddenly.“What are you talking about?”
“Open your eyes, dude.I lived in your apartment for two years, remember?And Freya notices everything.Nicholas always came home around that time.15:30.The kid is like clockwork.”
Like clockwork.My mouth forms a thin line, remembering him telling me the same thing over a week ago.
He snorts.“You and Ava are a hell of a pair.Ava’s putting her needs behind Nicholas.And you’re putting Ava’s needs above yours.I need to draw a freaking flow chart just to keep up with you two.You should tell her you love her, dude.”
